Pablo Rodriguez to sit as Independent while seeking Quebec Liberal leadership

Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez announced his resignation from cabinet on Thursday and said he will sit as an Independent until the launch of the Quebec Liberal Party leadership race next year.

At a news conference in Gatineau, Que., Rodriguez said he is staying on until January to avoid a costly byelection weeks, or possibly months, before a general election.

«My priorities can no longer be those of a government that I have always served as a good team player,» Rodriguez told reporters, adding that he wants to set his own priorities and advance a vision for a «fairer, more humane, more united Quebec.»

«I am certain that François Legault's Quebec — with its divisive politics — doesn't resemble Quebecers and doesn't unite Quebecers,» he added.

Rodriguez's departure from cabinet comes nearly two months after Seamus O'Regan, the former labour and seniors minister, stepped down.

The Trudeau government is expected to announce this afternoon who will replace Rodriguez in his roles as Quebec lieutenant and transport minister, according to Radio-Canada sources.

The positions may be filled by one or two people who are already cabinet ministers; no new members will be called to cabinet, sources say.

Rodriguez's deep ties to the federal Liberal Party span more than 20 years.

He was first elected with the party in 2004 as the MP for Honoré-Mercier, in Montreal's east end, and re-elected in the same riding in 2006 and 2008. After being defeated by the NDP's Paulina Ayala during the Orange Wave in 2011, he was re-elected in 2015 and in the last two elections.

A staunch Liberal, Rodriguez was sworn in as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Quebec lieutenant and government House leader in 2019.